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March 2, 2015
March is Developmental Disabilities Month  
Participate in the campaign launched by the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities
#SidebySide: Celebrating Togetherness 

Advancing Public Policies for People with Mental Illness, Chemical Dependency or Developmental Disabilities   

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Betsy Gorman, Editor
bg@clmhd.org
Webinars & Resources:

SAMHSA Grants and Upcoming Events here

Webinar:  March 19th 3:30
Community Catalyst: Collaborating to Improve Community Health here

March 24th 10:00-12:00
OMH is hosting an informal meeting for all Directors of Community Services to highlight activities and initiatives that the Children's Division of Integrated Community services has undertaken for the past two years to prepare Family Peer Support Providers for the transition to Medicaid Managed Care.   
Join the online meeting here

 AATOD's Nat'l Conference, Addressing a Public Health Crisis: Opioid Dependence held in Atlanta from March 28-April 1, 2015.  Link here

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
March:

Children & Families  
Tues. 3/10 11:30-1:00 
GTM

Officers & Chairs  
Wed. 3/11 8:00-9:00 
Call in Only

Mental Hygiene Planning 
Tu 3/12 11:00-2:00 
Location TBD Albany

CLMHD/OASAS Upstate Field Offices Meeting 
Wed 3/25 10:20-2:30 
607 E. Molloy Rd. Syracuse

CLMHD Director's Meeting
In Person 
Tues. 3/31 
10:30-Noon  
Executive Committee
In Person 
12:30-2:00 
Both: 41 State Street Albany 
 
SAVE THE DATE: 
CLMHD SPRING FULL MEMBERSHIP MEETING 
May 18-19, 2015 
Saratoga Springs, NY

Contact CLMHD for all call in information, 518.462.9422
CLMHD 2015-16 Legislative Budget Hearing Testimony
 
Last Friday was the State Joint Legislative Budget Hearing on Mental Hygiene.
Read the full testimony here. 

Read the 2015-16 CLMHD Executive Budget Analysis here.
State awards $17M in housing programs

 

New York has awarded more than $17 million to programs serving homeless veterans, adults struggling with HIV/AIDS, substance abuse problems or mental health conditions.  

 

The funds will go to initiatives in New York City and in and around the Finger Lakes region.

The programs assist special-needs individuals and families in finding housing. The money announced by Cuomo is expected to provide 127 units of supportive housing.  Read more.  

 

As FEGS sinks, experts question oversight, structure

 

Nonprofit management experts say the financial collapse of one of New York's largest nonprofit social service agencies may have been due to mismanagement, a lack of government oversight and a flawed funding equation.

Federal Employment Guidance Service (FEGS), which has 72 state and city contracts mostly providing employment assistance for disabled and mentally ill New Yorkers, announced in January that it was going out of business after auditors discovered a $19.4 million shortfall in its budget. Its contracts are being redistributed to other vendors.  Read more.

Cuomo's quiet health care-funding challenge

For more than two years, members of the Cuomo administration have regularly met with officials from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The negotiations aren't exactly secret, but few people who aren't directly involved in the talks have any idea what's being discussed or what's at stake.

 

The negotiations are over what is known as the Upper Payment Limit, or U.P.L. That's a rule that says Medicaid, the insurance program geared toward the poor and paid for with state and federal money, cannot pay a higher amount for any service than Medicare, the insurance program for the elderly, would pay for that same service.  Read more.    

How we will shatter the mental illness stigma?  

by Chirlane McCray for the NY Daily News 

 

'I'm sorry, but the doctor isn't taking new patients right now."

 

It took me a moment to grasp what the receptionist was telling me. After hours of internet research, innumerable phone calls, and frustrating discussions with some well-meaning but distant professionals, the psychiatrist we had identified as a good fit for Chiara wouldn't be able to help us.

 

I hung up the phone and put my head down on the table. My first impulse was to leave it there until the world started making sense again, but there was no time for that. My daughter needed help. Read more here. 

CMS announces release of 2015 Impact Assessment of Quality Measures Report

This report is a comprehensive assessment of quality measures used by CMS. It examines the effectiveness and impact of measurement and demonstrates our commitment to achieving optimal results from our quality measurement programs. The report summarizes key findings from CMS quality measurement efforts and recommended next steps to improve on these efforts.  Read the report.  
The Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors advances public policies and awareness for people with mental illness, chemical dependency and developmental disabilities.  We are a statewide membership organization that consists of the Commissioner/ Director of each of the state's 57 county mental hygiene departments and the mental hygiene department of the City of New York.

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